The most common high school sports injuries are sprains and strains, often caused by overuse. Many high school athletes feel invincible and push themselves to the limit, often resulting in injury. In addition to overuse injuries, high school athletes also experience acute injuries such as fractures and dislocations, particularly in sports like football, lacrosse and cheerleading, whose “flyers” have one of the highest incidences of catastrophic injuries in sports.
Various sports are linked to particular types of injuries. For example, basketball players frequently suffer ankle sprains, while soccer and football players commonly experience ACL tears. Track and field athletes often encounter shin splints. Seeking timely treatment is essential to prevent these injuries from worsening. For instance, if left untreated, shin splints can develop into a stress fracture.
Injuries during high school years are different from adult injuries because of the body's better recovery potential due to biological factors. Tissues tend to recover more quickly at a young age. The small blood vessels that nourish muscles function optimally during high school years. Injuries may heal more quickly during this stage of life but may also have long-term repercussions if not given enough time to completely heal.
Changes in Sports
Coaches, parents and staff have become very conscious about athletes and their health. They are respecting medical advice and not pressuring doctors to alter our recommendations or change our judgment. This is a positive shift we hope continues.
However, the pressure to excel in sports can lead kids to continue playing despite being injured, which can have serious consequences. Many kids are unaware of their physical limits and the pressure to perform can result in the worsening of injuries, long-term damage to their joints and muscles, and the potential need for surgery, which may permanently alter their physical condition. This trend of kids playing sports at a younger age, for longer durations and under greater pressure is creating a harmful cycle.
Building Identity Outside of Sports
Athletes should aim to improve and grow, but it's important for their overall development to have an identity that goes beyond sports. Engaging with other people can help them broaden their horizons and gain exposure to the world. While their parents and coaches may be their primary influences, having a mentor to broaden their perspective can be highly beneficial.
In my role as a sports medicine physician, I often act as a mentor for young athletes. Sports were very important to me before I went to medical school and I had similar experiences where I pushed myself to play. I can relate to the kids and understand their experiences. An injury can have a big impact on a kid's self-esteem. So, helping them work through that mentally is just as important as healing the physical injury.
Promote a Culture of Health and Safety
The best thing parents, coaches and schools can do for athletes is to promote a culture of health and safety. When there is respect for each person, the culture is strengthened. When there is acceptance of input, the culture is strengthened. When a team prioritizes rest and recovery over immediate performance, the culture is strengthened. While every game is important, it is more mature to realize that missing a game to recover is crucial, so it doesn't turn into an injury that sidelines a person for the entire season.
Prevention Strategies
Remember to use evidence-based risk mitigation and injury prevention strategies. Guidelines have been developed for each sport in collaboration with professional organizations, taking into account common injury patterns. For baseball, athletes can visit MLB.com and enter their age and the number of pitches they are throwing to ensure they are within a healthy range. Throwing too many pitches at a young age can be harmful in the long term. For soccer, there are FIFA ACL injury prevention guidelines. Similar guidelines exist for most sports and can be incorporated into training to build strength and minimize the risk of injuries that can be common in that particular sport.
Stretching Guidelines
It's important to stretch to prevent injury. The approach to stretching has evolved over time based on improved science and evidence. Current recommendations suggest doing warm-up drills and dynamic stretching before sports activities, and static stretches after playing to prevent stiffness.
- Dynamic stretching involves active movements that take your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. These exercises increase blood flow, improve flexibility and prepare the body for physical activity. For soccer, dynamic stretching can include high knees (running in place while lifting your knees high), walking lunges (taking large steps forward while lowering your hips) and leg swings (swinging one leg forward and backward and side to side).
- Static stretching involves holding a stretch for a prolonged period, typically 15-60 seconds. These exercises improve flexibility and help relax the muscles after physical activity. An example of a static stretch would be a basic hamstring stretch (bending over to touch your toes) or a quad stretch (pulling your heel to your glutes while standing).
Take Your Time with Specialization
The data indicates that it is not in an athlete’s best interest to specialize in a single sport at a young age. This can lead to a higher risk of injury and overuse of tissues. Studies even show that when an individual eventually settles on a primary sport – ideally during high school – they will be a better athlete by participating in multiple sports when younger. This approach helps strengthen more muscles and promote more balanced physical development. Even the legendary Michael Jordan played several sports during his formative years and only specialized in basketball later – though he still took a short break to play some baseball in the middle of his basketball career.
Recommendations – Think About Your Future
During high school, it may be difficult to consider how your actions will affect your body when you're older. However, it's important to understand that the way you treat your body now will impact your health in the future. Taking care of your body while you're young will lead to better health as you age.
Think about your future self and how your actions are affecting your body. If you experience an ache or pain, you might recover quickly the first time. However, with repeated occurrences, the recovery process may not be as fast. If not properly healed, it could lead to long-term issues. Try to gain insight from more experienced athletes without risking injury. Rest and fully recover from an injury for a better future in sports and for long-term wellbeing.
Endeavor Health has a sports medicine team that treats athletes and people of all ages. The team is on the field and the sidelines, taking care of athletes with injuries and injury prevention, as well as people of all ages who have issues with arthritis and other ailments. Visit us online or call (630) 527-6363.
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